<HTML><BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff">Doug, Some customers are crotchety and will complain no matter how much you ex= plain things to them.  I think all of us have been there.   I find that after a pitch raise of epic proportions, pianos can do unpre= dictable things.  The whole thing can raise in pitch, drop in pitch, br= eak strings during the pitch raise.  I've found that unisons go out far= more easily as well (mostly in new pianos), depspite my best attempts to eq= ualize tension in the strings.   Explain that it will take several tunings to stablize the instrument. &n= bsp;It doesn't matter, really, whether they're done in 6 weeks, or 6 months.=  Six years might be "stretching" it a tad, though....:-) I would go back and check your work, and while you're there, give the cu= stomer a copy of the PTG Bulletin on Pitch Raising.  He might gain some= glimmer of understanding if he reads it.  I carry them in my invoice b= ook and give them to customers who get a glazed look when I start trying to = explain what happens with such a dramatic increase in tension.  Having = written information cuts down on appointment time. I'd offer to tune the piano again for a discounted rate.  If he was= a gentleman, and good-natured, I'd be more inclined to offer complimentary = service. Best of luck, Dave Stahl In a message 12/13/04 5:49:48 PM Pacific Standard Time, pianotuner@front= iernet.net writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">As a new piano tuner, I am = learning a lot as I go and tune different pianoâ€™s and typically I= am tuning the older pianoâ€™s and some new/better ones.  This= past Sat. I tuned a piano for a home that had a console that had never b= een tuned â€˜in a long timeâ€™. I warned them that I might br= eak strings and that it will go out of tune quickly because of the condition= of the strings and the piano itself. Well I was called back by the cu= stomer saying â€˜the piano is still out of tune and you must not ha= ve checked it before you leftâ€™.  Before I left I told him, â= €˜your piano is most likely going to go flat somewhat because it has = not been tuned at all in such a long time (20+ yrs) and that it should tu= ned every 6 months. The piano was old and recently had some action work, = but the strings looked old and dirty.  I was careful not to break an= y strings and when I left it sounded good and the funny thing was the cus= tomer said it sounded good after I finished. It was not that out of tune,= A440 sounded like it was between g-sharp and a, but not an entire half/s= tep off. So, what do I do now? Has anyone been in my shoes before? G= o back and do a â€˜freeâ€™ fix it up tuning, or tell him, he = has to pay for a 2nd tuning. Is this going to risk my reputation? He had = the action done by another local PTG member and I am afraid that if I don= â€™t go back and â€˜fixâ€™ this, I am going to get that<BR= >reputation and the other PTG member might tell others about the â€˜pa= rt timeâ€™ tooner, which I do not want to be and this is why I join= ed the PTG, to get better. Any thoughts on this would be greatly apprecia= ted. I thought the tuning was good, inspite of the condition of the = piano and the strings. It sounded alot better, but I knew it was going to= need another tuning soon. Any advice, thoughts? Thanks. = Doug Renz Associate PTG member, Rochester, NY </BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>